Dental professionals typically advise individuals to perform a regular brushing routine which includes brushing both the teeth and soft tissues within the oral cavity. It is widely recognized that bacteria on both teeth and soft tissues contributes to poor oral hygiene, which in turn can contribute to malodorous breath. Dental professionals have systems which are used to evaluate gingival plaque. Such systems must be used in the dental office and are generally not available for use at home. While systems and processes for evaluating the hygiene of soft tissues using other markers have been investigated, none exist which are convenient enough for use by dental professionals, let alone for home use. It is therefore desirable to have systems and processes which facilitate the evaluation of oral hygiene with respect to soft tissue, particularly the tongue, through the use of other markers that may be naturally present. Evaluations of this type can not only improve oral hygiene, and thus breath freshness, when used by dental professionals, but it can also be used at home for the same purposes.